


Beauty and the Keith

by Boberry



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Bisexual Lance (Voltron), F/F, F/M, Galra Keith (Voltron), I'll tag more as I go, Keith (Voltron) is Bad at Feelings, Keith is the prince, M/M, Multi, Other, Tags Are Hard, because he doesn't get much love when he's bi, bi keith, lance is the beauty
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-11-07
Updated: 2017-11-06
Packaged: 2019-01-30 09:13:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,389
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12650580
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Boberry/pseuds/Boberry
Summary: Once upon a time, in the hidden heart of France, a handsome young prince named keith who lived in a beautiful castle. Even though he had everything his heart desired, he was selfish and unkind. He taxed the nearby village to fill his castle with the most beautiful things.Lance is a boy in a nearby village who dreams of a life where he can be himself. Where he can be free. Where he can travel and see what he wants and who he wants.





	Beauty and the Keith

      Once upon a time, in the hidden heart of France, a handsome young prince lived in a beautiful castle. Even though he had everything his heart desired, he was selfish and unkind. He taxed the nearby village to fill his castle with the most beautiful things.

 

      I looked around the ballroom admiring the beautiful sight. Every candle in the room was lit giving it a warm glow. There were dozens of people in the ballroom tonight. From beautiful debutantes in dazzling gowns wishing for my hand in marriage to foreign dignitaries hoping to win my favor for a treaty, all were dressed in their best clothes. 

      The debutantes danced to music by my harpsichord player and singer Shay. Her betrothed Hunk had made a wonderful spread of gourmet delicacies for me and our guests. My advisors Coran and Allura were here making small talk with dignitaries as I shirked my duties by dancing the night away. The only people missing from the picturesque evening were Shiro, Matt, and Pidge. Shiro is my captain of the guard, but don’t let that fool you he’s a big bowl of sugar. Matt is Shiro’s fiance and the son of the court physician. Pidge is his little sister. Sam, their father had to go into the nearby village, so Matt was stuck watching Pidge (if you ask her though she’ll insist she doesn’t need someone to watch her). Knowing that Shiro would just be pining for Matt all night, I gave him the night off and let his deputy, Kolivan, run security tonight.

      I was taking a break from dancing with the debutantes and was speaking to a handsome young ambassador from Austria when an intruder burst into the ballroom. The music stopped, and the guests fled to one side of the room. Once the flurry of snow had settled, I could see the intruder was nothing but an old woman. I approached her and before I could ask her business she spoke, “My dear prince Keith, I have come to seek shelter from the bitter storm. As a gift of goodwill, I offer you this single red rose.” 

      I laughed loudly thinking it was a joke. “Alright who hired the hag? Allura, was it Pidge? This seems like something she would do as revenge for her not being able to come” The crowd of guests, seeing that I was taking this as a joke, started to laugh along with me. 

      Laughing was my first mistake.

      The hag furrowed her brow and spoke again with her gravelly voice, “Do not be deceived by outward appearances for true beauty comes from within.”

      I, thinking this was her way to try and get the prank back on track, dismissed her again, “Go home there is no room here for a hag like you.”

      That was my second mistake.

      As I raised my hands to signal for the guards, the hag’s outward appearance melted away revealing a beautiful being. At the sight of such a being, all of my guests fled the castle hoping to escape their anger. I dropped to my knees as I was unable to move anymore than that and began to plead for mercy, “Please forgive me! I did not realize you were so exquisite. Please have mercy on us oh divine one.”

      They were not impressed with my apology.

      “Because you were so shallow and could not see past my outward appearance and clearly have no love in your heart, you will be doomed to life as a hideous beast.” They bent over and picked up the rose I had cast away. Again they spoke with their now angelic voice, “If you have not fallen in love and have someone truly love you in return by the time the last petal falls you shall remain a beast forever.”

      They cast a spell on my castle and all who lived there, erasing us from the memories of the ones we loved. As days turned into years, we, frozen in an eternal winter, eventually faded from the memories of the neighboring village as well. It seemed as if all hope was lost. For who could ever learn to love a beast?

 

* * *

 

      I liked to get up before the rest of the village. There was something magical about watching the world wake up as the clock tower struck eight in the center of the little town. It was a quiet village full of little people who did the same thing day in and day out. I was guilty of the same thing though. Everyday I would wake up before the rest of the rest of the village, so I could beat the crowd to the bakery and watch everyone wake up and shout, “Bonjour!” to each other.

      Today was no different than the rest. I woke up just before the rest of the village, get my bread from the baker and spoke to Monsieur Sam about the latest play I’ve been reading, Shakespeare’s  _ The Twelfth Night _ . After I told him a brief summary of the story, he simply commented, “Sounds boring.” Monsieur Sam believes that all recreational reading is pointless. But because I cannot bear to leave town and my mother, I resort to reading in order to get my fill of adventure.

      I eventually made my way through the village to the church, the only place in the town besides the schoolhouse that had any books. I entered after knocking to find Pére Alfor dusting the windows. “Finished already Lance?” He asked as he climbs down the ladder. “I couldn’t put it down. Do you have any new books?”

      “Not since yesterday, but you’re more than welcome to borrow any of the old ones that you like.” I grabbed my favorite book and thanked Pére Alfor, “Your small library makes our small corner of the world feel big.”

      “Bon voyage!” He bids me farewell as I head back out into the market. Once outside, I open the book and begin to weave my way through the gossiping townspeople. I came to my favorite part of the book rather quickly. 

      The book was a classic fairytale by the name of Voltron. It’s about five knights who defend the kingdom from the Galra and their evil tyrant. It’s got far off places, daring sword fights, and a prince in disguise. But my all time favorite scene is when the blue knight first meets the red one. The red knight is actually a prince but the blue knight doesn’t realize that until chapter three. It’s my favorite scene by far. And the blue knight is definitely my favorite character. 

      As I wandered through the town enjoying my book with a small smile on my face, I couldn’t help but overhear the villagers gossiping about me behind my back, saying things like I was ‘odd’. Over the din of the villagers, I could hear Lotor trying to fight through the crowd to get to me. Probably to ask for my hand in marriage again. Lotor returned from the war insistent on winning my hand in marriage even though he constantly has the company of four women. His closest companion, Axca, is always by his side helping him achieve his goals and offering words of inspiration and support. Narti, Zuthrid, and Ezor were three of the village girls that were constantly fighting each other for Lotor’s attention. But Lotor paid none of them any heed. He was always too busy praising himself and chasing after me.

      Lotor eventually fought his way through the crowd holding a large bouquet of flowers. “Good morning Lance! Wonderful book you got there!”

      Even though I knew better, I allowed myself to get excited and quickly asked, “Have you read it?” And like the poser he is, he responds, “Well not that one, but, you know, books.” He quickly offers the bouquet continuing, “For your dinner table. Shall I join you this evening?”

      Because I had no idea of how to refuse this offer, I simply replied, “No, not tonight.” Because Lotor has no way to tell when a person is uninterested, he asked, “Busy?” 

      “No….” I said as I moved away from Lotor. I knew this was not the end of his advances, but took the moment of peace offered to me as something else caught his fancy and I headed home.

**Author's Note:**

> This is going to be my NaNoWriMo project. it got stuck in my head while watching the movie and then I looked it up and got inspired by some fanart. Thanks to my friends who beta my crazy ideas.  
> I couldn't find a perfect place for everyone so some characters are a tad miscast but this is how I see this story.  
> I would also like for it to be noted that I didn't want to write a whitewashed version of lance but 18th century France didn't have a lot of cuban boys soooooooo
> 
> I plan to have the second chapter posted Wednesday.
> 
> Please let me know what you think in the comment section below!


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